Meet Our Musicians: Eliza and Colin
Continuo musicians Eliza Reimold and Colin Martin are in their first year with our program, and have insightful perspectives to share on their recent participation in outdoor and Zoom performance.
Eliza Reimold
Eliza Reimold is an 18-year-old clarinetist from Boxford, Massachusetts who plans to study clarinet performance at Northwestern University in the Fall of 2021. She recently joined Continuo for an outdoor performance with CCB as well as a Zoom performance at the Goddard house. During the pandemic she’s taken up gardening, and afterward her dream travel location would be Peru!
Grace Helmke: What was it like to play for a live audience again, at our October 9th outdoor CCB performance?
Eliza Reimold: Usually, my favorite part is the performance and playing for an audience, but for this particular performance, I think my favorite part was the rehearsals that we had. That was my first time playing with other musicians since the pandemic started, and it was super impactful and motivating to be able to connect with other musicians in person. I just had a blast playing with you guys!
I remember I was actually really nervous to play, because usually for community outreach performances, I feel pretty chill about them. And even though I knew I’d been preparing so much because all I’ve been doing is practicing because I haven’t had any orchestra rehearsals or anything. So, actually playing for an audience after so much time had passed just playing for myself, was kind of scary.
GH: How did you approach preparation for this performance on your instrument as well as with your group members?
ER: Learning the Poulenc, that was interesting. I’d say I found a way to make the time to practice it because it was a fun project for me. The piece was really fun, and challenging, and it was something that I enjoyed playing. So, I think that made it easier to work it into my schedule, where I wasn’t super stressed about the piece. Communicating with your group and making sure you find a time that works for everyone is important--the drive into Boston for me is quite a trek, so I’m glad we found a time where we could plan ahead and get there early enough that there’d be no problem.
GH: How have you approached your Zoom performances with Continuo during this time--what were some of their advantages and disadvantages?
ER: The Zoom performance was fun, but it was definitely way out of my comfort zone. Beforehand I’d never put together a recorded video, and to layer the different tracks and put the videos together and try to do the technology thing--so there’s definitely a learning curve to that--but I’m so glad I ended up doing it and taking on that project because now I feel like I’m a lot more comfortable with that skill. It was definitely beneficial, and something that I’d want to do again in a future, now that I’m more comfortable with it. I remember they sent the video of the recording to us, and I sent it out to all my grandparents!
GH: Would you recommend Continuo to a friend? What were some of your favorite learning experiences?
ER: I would definitely recommend Continuo for anyone. Even this year—I’ve done an outside performance and then also one put together for the Goddard House over Zoom. Usually Zoom events feel really disconnected, but I feel like Continuo does a good job of still building a community. It feels good to be part of a community where you find all kinds of weird connections, such as how Colin and I both joined the group on Jason Chen’s recommendation. I feel like I know so many people who know other people, and it’s been fun to connect with other musicians.
Colin Martin
“There’s not really any other group that’s able to offer what Continuo offers.”
Colin Martin is an 18-year-old bassoonist from Belmont, Massachusetts, who’s currently in the process of applying to colleges to study Music Performance and Education. Though his favorite composer is Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky, his favorite piece is The Hounds of Spring by Alfred Reed. His favorite performance was on a trip to Italy with the NEC Prep Young Artists Orchestra, and his dream trip would be Iceland. In his free time, he enjoys baking!
Grace Helmke: Think back to our outdoor performance with CCB. What was most impactful to you about this experience?
Colin Martin: I would say for me, about the actual performance, I’d kind of forgotten what it felt like to perform. Over quarantine we’ve been spending so much time just practicing by ourselves, and then finally being out there, playing for people, was so surreal.
GH: What was your preparation for this performance like in comparison to a normal year?
CM: The Poulenc was something that I had played in February of 2019, and I’d kind of forgotten it over the 6 months since but, it was definitely something that I knew which made it easier to pick up on. It’s a pretty tough piece to pick up in a short amount of time.
For me, in a normal year, I probably wouldn’t have a job because I’d have so much time to spend in rehearsals, but now that I don’t have rehearsals, I decided to get a job. That was what I had to balance Continuo with--like when Eliza and I made time to rehearse the Poulenc one Saturday or Sunday, I had to work it around my job.
GH: How did you find Continuo? What are some of your favorite aspects about the program?
CM: I was actually recommended to join the group by my friend Jason Chen. He kind of texted me the night it was due and said, “The deadline is tonight, but you should sign up for this,” and I did! I knew he was part of Continuo because of his performance in a group with Seth Goldman.
GH: What kind of meaning has Continuo had on your life as a musician, as well as outside of music?
CM: It was definitely a really positive meaning for me. There’s not really any other group that’s able to offer what Continuo offers. You can’t do anything through a school because they’re not supposed to encourage playing music with other people, even outside. So, having that outside group was definitely beneficial for me.
